Adjustable display easel



v Dec. 25, 1956 C. C. HARRIS ADJUSTABLE DISPLAY EASEL Filed Sept. 19,1952 INVENTOR CARL C. HARR/J ATTORNEYS United States Patent O ADJUSTABLEDISPLAY EASEL Carl c. Harris, Orange, Mass., assignor m The Stencil Co.,Orange, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application September 19,1952, Serial No. 310,454

7 Claims. (Cl. 248-195) The present invention relates to display devicesand more particularly to cards or easels for displaying small articlessuch as pencils, pens, flash lights and the like.

In the merchandising ofsm-all articles such as pencils, pens, minatu'reflash lights and the like it is common to mount one or more of thearticles on a card or easel and place one or more of the cards or easelsin a show window or in or on a show case. The cards or easels will be atvarious levels relative to the eye level of an observer and,

for most effective display, the easel or card should be substantiallynormal to'the line of sight of the observer, that is,', it shouldbesubstantially vertical when located at eye level and substantiallyhorizontal when on the floor of a show case.

Cards or easels having articles attached thereto are frequentlyplaced ontop of store counters Where they are freely accessible. As a result,many such articles are stolen and it is important that the articles beprotected in some way against unauthorized remov-alfrom the display.It'is equally important however, that the articles be readily removablefor sale and readily replaceable when it is necessary to replenish orchange the articles on the card or easel.

One of the primary objects 'of the present invention is to provide animproved display device for articles which can be'adjusted to aplurality of positions for proper display of the articles regardless ofthe relation of the level at which the display device is mounted to thelevel of the eyes of prospective customers and which can be stored in adrawer in the manner of a display tray 'orboxe-d for shipment.

Another object is to provide a display card or easel for articles whichmay be attached to the display card edge in su'cha Way thatthe articlesmay be readily removed or replaced but are protected againstunauthorized removal.

Morespecifically it is an object of the present invention to provide animproved device for displaying articles which is simple in construction,economical to manufacture, which can be adjusted to any of a pluralityof display positions in accordance with the relation of the eye level ofthe prospective customer to that at which the display is mounted and iseifective to prevent unauthorized removal of the clip bearing articlefrom the display.

The foregoingand other objects of this invention will become morefullyapparent by reference to the appended claims and as the followingdetailed description proceeds in reference to the accompanying drawingswherein:

Figure, l is a front elevation View of one embodiment of the displaydevice of the present invention;

Figure 2 is an end view of the display device of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional view of the display device of Figure1 showing inadetail the detent means for retaining the display cardinits adjusted position relative to the base upon which it is pivotallymounted, being a section taken substantially along the line '33 ofFigure 1;

Figure/1 is fragmentary perspective view of a modified display deviceconstituting a second embodiment of the present invention and which isof such improved con- Patented Dec. 25, 1956 .2 struction that loss ofdisplayed clip bearing articles due to thievery is materially reduced;and

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of a display device of the typeshown in Figure 4 modified for the display of non-clip-bearing articles.

Referring now in detail to the drawings and particularly in reference toFigures 1 and 2, the display device of my present invention includesbase 10 formed with a fiat bottom face 12 adapted to rest upon a shelfor display counter in a store and formed with a groove 14 which is ofsegmental circular cross-section greater than a semicircle and whichextends longitudinally of the base 10. The bottom 12 may be formedeither by spaced feet on the base 10 or as in the disclosed embodiment,by a continnous flat surface. A cylindrical rod or. shaft 16 which maybe of wood, metal, plastic or the like, is rotatably received within therecess 14 and, due to the fact that the recess 14 is of greater thansemi-circular cross-sectional configuration, is effectively retainedtherein against all but rotary and axial movement.

A display card or easel 18, upon which the articles 19 are mounted fordisplay purposes, is rigidly mounted upon rod or shaft 16 for pivotalmovement therewith to various positions in which the articles 19 will bemostclearly displayed to prospective customers, The card or easel 18 isgenerally a hat sheet of paper, plastic, metal or the like and its loweredge is fixed in a slot 20 formed longitudinally along shaft 16 parallelto the axis thereof. The side edges of card 18 are bent rearwardly fromthe front of the display to form integral side braces or flanges 22which stiffen the card 18 and the lower ends of these flanges may besecured to the ends of shaft 16.

As is best shown in Figure 3, detent means are'provided for retainingthe shaft 16 and the display card 18 in their adjustedpositions relativeto the base 10. One simple form of detent consists of a member 26 whichis 'slida'bly mounted ina bore 27 in the base 10 and is urged outwardtoward the rod 16 by a spring 30. The member 26 and spring 30 may, ifdesired, be mounted in a cup or sleeve 28 which is inserted into thebore 27 as a unit. The'member 26 bears against the rod 16 and holds therod 16 in adjusted position. If desired, the rod 16 may be provided withan annular groove 24 for receiving the end of the member 26. The member26 will hold the rod 16 in adjusted position whether or not there is agroove 24 but the groove'24 does hold the rod 16 against axialdisplacement. While ordinarily one detent unit is sufiicient, severalmay be employed if desired.

It is, of course, apparent thatthe relative positions of the groove 24and the spring biased detent member 26 may be reversed if desired. Thisdetent 26 provides a continuous-adjustment of shaft 16 relative to base10 while the groove serves to prevent removal of the rod or shaft 16.

As will be noted by reference once again to Figure 2, the top surface 32of the base 10 to the rear of the axis of shaft 16 is sufficiently lowto permit the display card to to engage the display card 18 when it isshifted to a posi tion slightly forward of the vertical position. Theseextreme positions of the display card 18 are illustrated in phantomlines and designated respectively 18 and 18". The card 18 is adjusted toposition 18" when the display is located above the eye level ofprospective customers and is adjusted toward position 18' when thedisplay is located below customers eye level, for storing, as in adrawer, or for'shipment. t

It should be noted that the axis of shaft 16 is off-set from the centerof the base 10 toward the front of the base 10 so that a vertical linethrough the center of gravity of the display assembly as a whole, evenwhen fully loaded with articles, will pass through the bottom face 12for all base solong-as base ltl is mounted-on-ahorizontal-' or nearlyhorizontal surface in the customary manner. There is, therefore, nodanger that the display will tip over.

The display easel as thus fardescribedis suitable for the'displa'y'ofany articles,regardless of the manner in which'the'articles are securedto the card18. The articles may be secured to the card by clips,staples, glue, or tabs oryholes formed inthe card'18 and the cardadjusted to the most advantageous viewing angle. I

One of'the principal usesof myeasel is for the display of "articles suchas pencils, pens, pocket flash lights,'and the like whichbear apermanent or removable pocket engaging clip such as the clip 33 onpencil19 in Figure 4;

As will. be noted from Figures 1 and 2, in the first embodiment of theinvention, clip bearing articles may be attached to the easel by placingthe clip over the top edge ofthe dis'playcard 18.. It has been foundthat while that embodiment ofmy improved display device is entirelysatisfactory for display in show cases which are enclosed, this mannerof securing the articles to the display card 18 permits relatively easyremoval of the articles by thieves when the display is placed on top ofa counter. In order to overcome this disadvantage, I have provided asecond embodiment which is shown in Figures 4 and 5 and which, with theexceptions that will be noted, is identical with'the display device of.Figures 1 through 3.

Referring now to Figure '4, it is seen that an aperture 36 of generallyrectangular configuration has been formed through the display card 18,the lower edge of this rectangular aperture 36 being the edge upon whichthe clip bearing articles 19 are to be attached for display purposesrather than over the top edge as in the-first embodiment. This aperture36 may be formed by making three cuts through the display card 18forming the side edges and lower edge of the aperture and bending theportion of the'sheet material of card 18 which is thus released along aline extending between the tops of the side cuts parallel to the loweredge to provide aprojection 38 extending forwardly over the tops of theclip bearing articles 19 when in their displayed position, as shown, toprevent vremovalof the articles from the. display device. In thisembodiment of my invention the bent out projection 38 has been cut offslightly so that the width of the projection .38 is not exactly equal tothe width ofthe rectangular aperture 36. This-has been done to preventthe projection 38 from extending further fromthe plane of display card18 than necessary to prevent removal of the articles 19.

The articles, which as illustrated are flat pencils, are mounted on theedge of the aperture 36' with their clips extending over the edge to therear-of the card and the pencil on the front of the card 18. The heightof the opening 36 is suchthat the top of the pencil engagestheprojection 38 before the lower end of the clip clears the edge ofthe:aperture 36 so that the pencil cannot be readily removed .from thecard. I

When :it is: desired to remove one or thereof the articlesifrom'the.display card 13, pressure is: applied by handin .the' vicinity of thelower edge of the rectangular aperture=36 to'the face of the displaycard 18 from which 4, size as to hold three or four of the articles 19.By this preferredconstruction, amore rigiddisplay 4 is provided:

The prevention of the unauthorized removal is applicable tonon-clip-bearing as well as clip bearing articles as illustrated inFigure 5 which shows this feature of my invention with non-clip-bearingarticles such as a ruler or scale and a nail punch.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 5, which is generallysimilartothe device ,of Figure4, the face of the card 18 is providedwith a loopor sleeve 40 through which the article such as the scale 42.is freely slidable'. If the article 42 is of sufiicient length and-theloop or sleeve 40 .is properly located,;the'base 10 will prevent removalof the article by downward movement While if the article 42 isrelatively short, a pocket 44 may be secured to the face of the card 18to receive the lower end of the article and prevent removal by downwardmovement.

The loop or sleeve 40may be formed in ,a variety of ways. For example, aportion of the card 18 maybe bent outward to form the sleeve 40 or thesleeve maybe a separate piece such as a staple or loop of materialsecured to the face of the card. If a pocket 44 is used, this may alsobeformed as a part of the card 18 or as a separate piece secured to theface of the card.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departingfrom the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The presentembodiments are'therefore to be considered in all respects asillustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention beingindicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoingdescription, and all changes which come withinthemeaning and range ofequivalency of the claims are-thereforeintended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by United States LettersPatent is:

l. A device adapted to display clip-bearing articles with v a minimumdangerof loss due to thievery in any of a plurality of adjusted angularpositions, said device com= prising a base having a flat face adapted torest upon-a counter or shelf, a shaft rotatably mounted upon said baseabout an axis parallel to the plane of said support face, a generallyflat relativelyflexible display cardfixed to. said shaft in a planeparallel to the axis of rotation there of, means coacting between saidshaft and said base for retaining said shaft in its adjusted positionrelative to said base, said display card being formed with a rectan-.

gular aperture upon the lower edge of which clipbearthe projection 38extends to deflect the lower edged the I ing articles may be clipped fordisplay purposes on said display card, an imperforate projectionextending completely along the top edge of said aperture and projectingfrom one side of the display card so as to overlie said clipbearingarticles attached upon said lower edge to prevent direct upwardremoval of said articlesysaid display card being formed of a defiectablematerial whereby, when pressure is manually appliedadjacent said loweredgefrom said'one .side of. saidcard, said loweredge willJbe deflectedaway from said oneside suificiently ito permit removalrof saidarticlesthrough said aperture.

2'. In adevice adapted 'to display articles which areprovided'with meansthereon forattachment to a display card edge with minimumdanger'of'lossdue to thievery, a generally-planar relatively-flexible display cardhaving a'rectangular'aperture formed through said cardupon the loweredge of. which such articles may be attached by such means and animperforate projection extending from'one side of said card-completelyalong the'top edge of said aperture over the articles attached upon saidlower edge to prevent direct upward removal of said articles, said .cardbeing formed of a deflectable material whereby said lower edge can, bymanually apply ing pressure adjacent said' lower edge at said one sideof said card be deflected to a position out of alignment with saidtopedge of said aperture to permit-removalor attachment of thearticlesthrough the aperture.

3. The combination defined in claim 2 wherein said projection is formedintegral with said card and consti tutes a portion of said cardpartially cut out and turned up out of the plane of said card tosimultaneously form said aperture and said projection.

4. In a device adapted to display articles with minimum danger of lossdue to thievery, a generally planar relatively flexible display cardhaving a rectangular aperture formed .therethrough, an imperforateprojection extending from one side of said card completely along the topedge of said aperture and projecting from one side of the display cardso as to overlie articles mounted on said card, and means on said oneside of said card below said aperture for supporting said articles todispose the upper ends thereof adjacent and below said projection toprevent direct upward removal of said articles, said card being formedof a defiectable material whereby the portion 'of said card adjoiningsaid articles can be manually deflected to a position out of alignmentwith said projection, to permit removal or attachment of the articlesthroughsaid aperture.

5. The combination defined in claim 4 wherein said projection is formedintegrally with said card.

6. The combination defined, in claim 4 wherein said means for supportingthe lower portions of said articles comprises at least one pocketextending outwardly from said one side of said card.

7. The combination defined in claim 4 wherein said means for supportingthe lower portions of said articles comprises a loop on one side of saidcard through which the articles may freely slide for removal orattachment.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

